The name, Nuhu Ribadu, is familiar to all Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora. He is the czar of the Nigerian anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Ribadu sounds a different meaning to different people. Some see him as the controversial hunter's dog of the former President Olusegun Obasanjo. His traducers  claimed that Obasanjo used him to hunt down personalities who held incongruous views regarding the president's aspiration in the opposition camps or the "disobedient" PDP chieftains. But for whatever reason, Ribadu is associated with and known
 for, this young police officer has made his mark in the national polity.
Ribadu is a dogged corruption fighter who walks where even the angels fear to set foot on. He fearlessly introduced probity and accountability in public services, so much so that it was believed, when he was in power  that the fear of Ribadu was the beginning of wisdom. Therefore, as Nigeria continues to occupy an unenviable position in world corruption ranking  by  Transparency International, his coming out at this crucial period to contest  for the presidency should
 be hailed by all and sundry, especially the progressive-minded.  Like those who fight against drug barons, Ribadu put his life on edge for the country, yet when the Obasanjo government came to and end, the succeeding government of  late President Umar Musa Yar'Adua began to persecute him. He was promoted and demoted  in the police force  and was asked to pull out of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), where he had gone for a course. All this was the tribulation he had to suffer for stepping on the toes of the "big boys" who surrounded the late President Yar'Adua. They visibly threatened to take their pound of flesh from him. When he found that his life was threatened, he had no alternative but to seek asylum abroad. However, well-meaning Nigerians and
 corporate organizations, within and outside, continued to honour him despite his persecution  by the government of the day.
In a joint statement dated  December 9, 2009, by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism; Socio-Economic Rights & Accountability Project (SERAP), Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC); Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), and Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), jointly named Ribadu as "our own equivalent of Amnesty International's Prisoner of Conscience and Individual at Risk." According to a statement to be read at the ceremony on behalf of the award jury by Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), and member of the board of SERAP: "This is an
 exceptional gathering for an even more exceptional man. Today the world celebrates the International Anti-Corruption Day, and we consider it a special day to celebrate the courage and commitment of a man who, despite obvious personal risks, decided to say 'enough is enough', and to give his all to the fight against corruption in Nigeria."
The groups also said that, "As chair of EFCC, Mr Ribadu provided an outstanding leadership in fighting corruption at all levels of Nigerian life. He tracked down high and low-level officials. Mr  Ribadu recorded over 300 criminal convictions in four years, which included governors, ministers, members of parliament, bankers, and a former Inspector-General of Police. He has recovered over $5 billion stolen public funds."
Assassination attempts on Ribadu's  life, and his unlawful sack from the police, his persecution at home, separation from wife and children and loneliness abroad, was the  price he had to pay for his commitment and his work as an anti-corruption defender. But he remains a source of tremendous inspiration for all anti-corruption and human rights defenders in our country.
Ribadu, our anti-corruption hero, has entered the presidential race; the onus is  ours to give him  the maximum support in order that he carries his corruption fight to a higher level of leadership. What is more? Ribadu's  agility and youthfulness as a young man is an added advantage to his track-records in the race to the  presidency. More so that the fashion of the world today is to go for young energetic  leaders. Barack
 Obama of the US and British PM David Cameron are good examples for us to emulate to make sure that the youth snatch the governance baton of our dear country from the old breed. The ball is now in our court.
 
 • Sidi wrote in from Wuse Zone 4, Abuja, FCT